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Eucalyptus kruseana (Book-leaf Mallee) - The foliage on this evergreen shrub looks like miniature Eucalyptus pulverulenta (AKA Baby Blue) leaves with pairs of rounded silvery-blue leaves stacked neatly and tightly along the stem. It is a slow growing shrub that has an angular shape reaching 8-10 feet tall and typically wider than tall, but can be cut hard to its lignotuberous base to make a more dense rounded shrub. The yellow flowers bloom in between the pairs of foliage in the spring.
Plant in full sun with occasional to infrequent irrigation. It is hardy to around 20° F. This plant is a very attractive and reliable plant in summer dry landscapes in Santa Barbara and is great for use in flower arrangements much like the similar but more open Eucalyptus pulverulenta 'Baby Blue'.
This mallee (shrubby Eucalypt) has a restricted distribution range east and south-east of Kalgoorlie in southern in Western Australia, usually growing on or around granite rocks. The name for the genus comes from the Greek words 'eu' meaning "well" and 'kalypto' meaning 'to cover' as with a lid and an allusion to the united calyx-lobes and petals that is called an operculum that forms a lid or cap that is shed when the flowers open. The specific epithet honors John Kruse, a 19th century pharmacist and chemist from Fitzroy, Victoria.
We first grew this plant from 1993 until 2003 after seeing it growing well in an unirrigated are in Franceschi Park, a city park located high on the Santa Barbara Riviera. We have not found record of who first introduced this interesting plant into California, but it was listed as growing in Santa Barbara as early as in 1972.
The information displayed on this page about Eucalyptus kruseana is based on the research we conducted about it in our nursery horticultural library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include some of our own observations made about this plant as it grows in the nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we have received from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information that will aid others to better grow it.
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